Input files are those files received from your customer (the print buyer) that make up the content of the publication being printed. Once you have created a job for the publication, you can add input files to the job. You must add input files to the job before you can begin processing them.
Preparing customer files
For information on how to prepare specific formats of customer files, see About preparing customer files. For a list of the input formats supported, see About supported input file types.
For information about setting to use in specific creative software, see About Adobe FreeHand, About Adobe Illustrator, About Adobe InDesign, About Adobe PageMaker, About Adobe Photoshop, and About QuarkXPress.
For information about recommended Distiller settings, see About recommended Acrobat Distiller 8, 9, X, and XI settings for content.
For detailed information about specific file types, see About copydot scans and other DCS files, CT/LW and TIFF/IT files, About duotones, About PDF input files, and About transparency support.
Adding files to a job
You can add files manually using the Add Input File menu item or automatically by using a hot folder. You can also add files by dragging them from a file browser into Job Manager.
Source of input files
When you add files to the job, you are creating an entry in the database referencing the location of the files. Therefore, you can store input files on any input volume; you do not have to copy the files to the job folder in order to add them to the job. (We recommend that you store the input files for a job in the job folder, but this is not required.)
Input files and archiving
When you archive the job, a copy of the original input files is archived along with the job.
When you add input files using a hot folder, the input files are stored in the <job folder>\HotFolders\Processed folder. When you archive the job, the input files are archived along with the job.
Removing files
You may need to remove an input file that you have added to a job—for example, if you added the wrong file or you discover a problem with the file and want to fix and re-add it.
You can delete a page from a job without deleting the input file from which it was generated. However, you must remove both the original input file and any pages generated from that input file before you can re-add the same input file or another input file of the same name. Alternatively, if you do not want to delete the pages associated with the input file, you can rename the input file before re-adding it to the job.